


Fate / Golden Apple

by FiringBlank



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Eventual Smut, F/M, Harems, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:34:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiringBlank/pseuds/FiringBlank
Summary: The supposed last master of Chaldea was smart enough to not accept weird jobs to unknown locations. Too bad Fate(™) has a way of leading him back into it. When in doubt, blame Zelretch.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Races are traditionally started with loud noises.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by some stories, I wanted to try my hand on a multi character study while doing a bunch of shenanigans, Eventually this story will feature adult content but it will only be placed in appropriate sites befitting the rating. This is a sort of gamer fic but I want to attempt to diverge from the current standard template.
> 
> Further notes in the bottom of the chapter.

_' The apple of Eden could be considered the first point of divergence for man but some would say it was god's plan.'_

* * *

[ Ritsuka Fujimaru ]

If there was an interesting fact about Ritsuka that no one should ever know, it was that he was aware of things. He was aware that he looked good enough to be a model of mass produced casual wear but did not have the cutthroat to stay in the industry for long. He was aware that one of his former classmates belonged to a family that controls the current Japan government from the shadows and is the reason why every intellectual property eventually has a mobile gacha game. Did he forget to mention he was aware of the moonlit word?

No, Ritsuka is not a magus or belongs to a magus family. He was not an adopted son of a highly trained assassin of magus either. No, he did not have weird eyes. His dad was an average salaryman who comes home drunk every now and then and his mom was a housewife who makes said salaryman sleep on the couch for being peer pressured to drink booze by his colleagues. Ritsuka was your normal 18 year old who graduated 2 months back from high school and was doing a gap year part timing in his new job while he decides his next step in life. Pretty average but pretty sweet too.

The reason why he knew is very simple. He lives in Fuyuki. Nice town except for that weird gas leak 10 years back or at least that was what the authorities told everyone but he knows and he knows very well of the holy grail war shebang and the people die when they are killed thing, all because he had to walk pass Ryuudou Temple every Thursday from cram school to his house.

It was thanks to this awareness that made it easy for him to pick which job to have in his gap year out of two. First was a well paid suspicious job offer from the convenience store post board that required him to take a special health exam and move overseas. You know who else offers well paid jobs from the convenience store post board that required him to take a special health exam and move overseas, the Yakuza and their organ trafficking to third world countries. Oh and the second job was to be a junior 3D model rigger for a virtual idol company that he conveniently had the skills for. Bless weird summer tech camp programs.

Safe to say, Ritsuka picked the latter and never looked back. That was until the world got incinerated by events he could never imagine. It just had to happen when Magi*Mari-chan would be debuting her model, goddamnit.

**[Downloading Data…]**

* * *

[ Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg ]

The second magic is powerful and should be used with heavy consideration. After all, just by peering into a possibility, it can render the timeline into reality. That is not to say Zelretch hides himself in the blank, empty space of his throne doing nothing, never looking at the many worlds through the Kaleidoscope. No, the man was the kind of voyeur who looked for the best, the most interesting, the most lasting one. He was a one of a kind connoisseur looking for the finest timeline to be entertained and lo and behold, he found one.

Timeline Designation Type: Grand Order

Variation Identification Number: 258-519-333-7 Delta

The grand order was always an interesting variation due to the unique exertion by the throne of heroes, more than Designation: Requiem. An unexceptionally normal human, either male or female taking on the burden to correct human history to the right course in hopes of being able to have a future. It was not a tale of good and evil that annoyed him, it was a tale of man's struggle and journey. Something Zelretch feels he has lost touch with for a long time now.

What made this specific variation interesting was the declination of one of the pivotal characters to his destiny and his awareness of the moonlit world, which if left alone would only doom the timeline to incineration like so many others and that was not as interesting.

It was for that reason, Zelretch interfered and brought him to his little black realm, a plan to steer the timeline onto another unprecedented path. A lovely mystic code of gold dancing on his palm.

If Ritsuka tried to recall where he was before he woke up, it would be like recalling a memory of staring into a turned off television screen, which is to say a weird recollection. He found himself on the floor, at least it felt like the floor. It was too dark to see. His body was intact and so was his head, enough to exhale relief.

"Greetings, Ritsuka Fujimaru." A voice plucked his attention to find the source, bringing his head to turn behind to the sight of an old man before the old man continued to speak.

"You do not know me but you may call me Zelretch. Welcome to my abode, not many get to visit."

"You a mage or something?" Ritsuka was wary, not out of fear but of the understanding that the matter is unknown.

"Or something, I am what they call a magician." Grandfatherly smiles never fit the Second Magician.

"What's the difference?" Ritsuka found himself unable to move his legs, there was no space.

"Does it really matter if you know? A magician never releases his secrets."

"Sounds more like a fraud."

"Hahaha, you remind me of a student. Funny how you two have the same eyes but enough of this banter. Judging by your lack of emotional reaction, you are unaware of what has happened, after all it's impossible to be intimate with the knowledge with what you have decided." The boy just gave off a puzzled look, wondering with no hints of the answer.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, your world as of 2016 A.D. has ceased to exist, incinerated by an entity. If you were to return to your reality, you too would cease to exist once more. There is no more future and in a matter of time, there will never be a sign of your existence in the first place."

"You got to be kidding me, old man?" Deep down, Ritsuka knew it was no lie, not because he has some ability to discern truth from lies but no matter how suspicious he was, his tone was not trying to convince him of it, it was just a matter of fact presented coldly and openly. His legs could now move but he only sunk them down to the black floor.

"Why tell me all of this?"

"Because this is not the end, this is the return to beginnings. You who were smart enough as a human to not pick suspicious jobs shall become foolish enough to appear in front of their doorstep and that is where the story continues."

The old man stood up from his seat on the throne, walking towards the boy. He places a smooth rectangle of gold and glass into the hands of Ritsuka. An electrical warmness, a vibration of awakening, it was a device but the second Magician provided no details as his guts began to twist together with his vision. It was not like being pushed into a tornado, it was like someone else was turning a kaleidoscope in his vision too quickly.

The last thing he saw was Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg waving at him.

**[Download Complete… Verifying Installation]**

**[Hello Master]**

* * *

[ Mash Kyrielight ]

A clear sky, whether it was a wish, a dream or a desire Mash Kyrielight has not made up her mind on but she wanted to see it, a sight of the world different from what she knows behind the white sterile walls of was a longing that grew whenever she tried to look past the window sill as Antarctica's blizzard continued to storm.

"Fou Fou Kyuu~" A mew that called away her attention from her tablet viewing by the window. Fou was a strange creature who only interacted with her. It spun around in circles, an indication that it wants to be followed before barking once more. Mash acquiesce to the whim of the privilege lifeform, getting out of her seat as it runs through the hall.

"Please wait for me, Fou." Mash had to pick up her pace to catch up with the energetic creature, going around the bend of the circular exterior ring of the facility. She finally caught up when Fou stopped in front of a corpse. No, not a corpse, just a peculiar sight.

A female, a master candidate indicated by the uniform she wore of the white coat and black skirt. The person had orange hair tied up a high side ponytail by a lighter orange scrunchy. Moving closer, it was observable that the person on the floor was asleep and not in fact dead with the small shifts in body movement that indicated breathing. An astute observation by Miss Kyrielight if Detective Holmes ever existed in that moment.

Fou on the other hand did no such observation and did the most instinctive thing a creature would do when testing if something is considered edible as sustenance, they lick the cheek.

Groggily, the lady opened her eyes to take a look at the disturbance of her impromptu sleep and found the dog rabbit still licking. "Huh~ What the"

Sitting up abruptly, she moved backwards and found a wall blocking, finally realizing her current location of a winding hallway as she relaxed and nursed her head. Mash cocked her head sideways before leaning closer. The orange head looked just a little older than her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just drowsy. What's your name?" The ladies facial expression was rare to Mash, a friendly face but her simple question was still a hard topic to respond to.

"Me? Uh, I am not someone whose name is worth mentioning… or something. I mean, I do have a name but…" A fumble in her words out of a lack of casual use in social events.

"Well, I think it is worth mentioning. You are the first person in this whole place. My name Is Gudako Riyo. It's fine to just call me Gudako. Please be generous and overlook any of my faults." There it was again with the expression, this time it was a brighter smile as Gudako stood up with her hand out for a shake.

"Yes, Senpai." In Chaldea, everyone was Mash's senpai, older or younger, because they had more experience in living as a human but this time, she thought she found someone who fit that idea more than others. Her hand was slow to reach out for a shake until Gudako grabbed it first. It was a warm touch.

'Grrr' Shame the mood got ruined by the rumbling of Gudako's hungry stomach. The orange head had the decency to blush in embarrassment.

"I am new here so do you know if there is a vending machine nearby?"

* * *

[ Ophelia Phamrsolone ]

Ophelia Phamrsolone sensed a disturbance in the force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. No, never mind she did not know where that reference came from. It was nothing sinister, it was after all a Tuesday,

She turned to look at the one person of interest she had in Chaldea. Something had changed with Mash Kyrielight. She seemed more motivated, a happier outlook on her face. Ophelia only wished it was with her but they had minimal contact during the possible range of duration that Mash has changed.

It has to be that girl she walked in with. Gudako Riyo, the 48th Master Candidate. She has good master ability and rayshift potential but she was a non-magus and was added just to fill in the ranks in the commoner block. The only interaction with the commoner master Ophelia knew of was when Director Animusphere kicked her out of the first mission for sleeping in the briefing. She did not understand why Miss Mash would change. There was nothing special about Gudako in her opinion or did Mash see something different in her. Was Kyrielight into truants? A stray thought sunk in before she banished it.

'Would interacting with Gudako Riyo help her too?'

No, now is not the time for this. They were going to do a proper field mission in the actual singularity, not another practice test. The rest of Team A has gotten into their coffin and she was one of the last ones left. She double checked her equipment and the coffin, going through the safety guideline.

"Miss Phamrsolone, please hasten your pace." Olga Marie Animusphere was on the loudspeaker and strict with her tone.

"Yes, I am ready to enter the coffin, pardon for my procrastination." It was unbecoming of her to be undisciplined, she should have left personal matters out of the command center. Before she could actually enter, the command center turned red from alarm lights as the automated system activated.

_**WARNING.** _

_**WARNING** _

_**Anomaly Detected** _

_**Detecting Spiritron Presence** _

_**Identifying Spiritron Presence** _

_**Error: No matching log of previous rayshift** _

_**Error: No matching log of previous rayshift** _

_**Error: Forced Rayshift Return** _

_**Automatic Override Failed** _

_**Executing Function** _

_**Available Coffin Container : 1 detected** _

_**Executing Rayshift Return** _

_**Function Complete** _

**[ Welcome Back Master ]**

It was a long, red minute and Ophelia was the only master candidate around to see it for being late, everyone else in induced sleep through the coffin. Something, no someone, a man around her age had been rayshifted back into Chaldea. The supercomputer had used her coffin as the conduit to rayshift him back here from wherever he came from. She pulled the unconscious man out of the coffin, he dressed modern at least, clutching a weird device. It looked like a smartphone, Ophelia tried to touch it but a spark of lighting lightly bit her, wrong, lightning magecraft, it was a mystic code.

Ophelia brought her bangle mystic code to his head to scan him. There was a mystery here that needed answers and like the rest of Team A, they had this mystic code tied to Trismegistus to assist them.

_**Scanning...** _

_**No matching data in clocktower database.** _

_**1 match found in Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communication.** _

**Ritsuka Fujimaru**

**Age 18**

**Date of birth: 12 December 1997**

_**Acquiring additional data from all Chaldea systems...** _

_**Non Magus family background designated by Trismegistus** _

_**Master Potential : 98% Positive sensed by FATE** _

_**Rayshift Potential: 99% Positive sensed by previous rayshift log** _

_**Automated Designation by Chaldea system set by Protocol Authority: Marisbury** _

_**49th Master Candidate, Ritsuka Fujimaru.** _

"Master Candidate No.5 Ophelia Phamrsolone, please bring the illegal intruder out of the command center quickly. I will have the security members deal with him. The mission has already been set, please do it quick." The heated tone in the director meant that she had been repeating the same command for a while to break Ophelia out of the shock she was experiencing. Whoever this guy was, he had a far higher record of potential even though it was not perfect. It was unprecedented especially for a non magus. The spiritual evocation department of the clocktower could benefit from studying his body. She was struggling to carry someone taller than her out of the rayshift room, stepping away from her coffin.

"Sheesh, why do these things keep happening to me." Olga Marie has always been struggling, even now as the situation irritated her nerves. She was barely keeping it together, moving away from her usual position in the command center to deal with this intruder. Oh the words and punishment she has for whoever dared to do this. She swore not even Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg could stop her.

"Director Olga Marie, please wait. We need you to stay in the command centre." Not even her one ally, Lev Lainur, could stop her from going out to give the man a piece of her mind. Odd that he would act so nervous now.

Before either women could step further out of the room, two massive explosions occurred at the center of the rayshift room and the director's spot in the command center. Ophelia Phamrsolone sensed a disturbance in the force, as if hundreds of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Too bad, she had been knocked out unconscious to be aware or refute that she has no idea on the reference.

* * *

[ Lev L▃▅■ur ]

It was illogical, unforgivable, improbable, impossible, unattainable, impracticable, inconceivable, unachievable, unobtainable, unthinkable, unreasonable, irrational, absurd, ludicrous, outrageous, preposterous. His plan was perfect, the timing was supposed to be perfect, the pieces were supposed to fall into place perfectly. Olga Marie was supposed to perish. All of Team A was supposed to perish. Which variable became unfixed? Which variable dared to leave their value? Romani. He was meaningless, a bystander that shall bear witness to his king's performance. Marisbury? No, the man was long dead, everyone was aware of it. He can't move plans from Hell. Wodime? No, he was too prideful to see through this event no matter how strong he was. Daybit? ...Lev's calculations hesitated but still reached a false hypothesis. The 48th master candidate who still lives? A joke, a jester he shall present to his king. Insignificant. Ritsuka Fujimaru. The unknown enigma was his clue. His intrusion has brought a domino effect sized wrench. His status is the same as Gudako Riyo, insignificant to his king's design. He needs to know more. He needs to calculate more. He needs to unravel more. He has been compromised. He shall play dead. He shall ensure a logical end to this failure. Whoever Ritsuka Fujimaru was or will be, it will not taint the grand order of his king.

* * *

[ Gudako Riyo ]

Gudako Riyo likes to call it women's intuition even when it's not about love. It's a romantic way of saying things after all even in tragedy and disaster not that she saw much of those so when the power failed and Chaldea shook, she already began running. Not outside but towards the source of it, Chaldea's command room and rayshift centre.

There was a sense of dread that comes with working on your first day, like Murphy's law getting kicked up to max and this was the representation of having it take the cake. Gudako just wanted a job that paid, sure it was suspicious and this whole magecraft mumbo jumbo was new to her. It paid well, hopefully it still pays well after this incident, she needed the money to be independent from her family. A desire to part from the toxicity.

It was not the time for that as she discarded the thought. Mash was in there, rescuing survivors was the priority. She entered the room, ignoring 's order not that he stick for long, needing to go to the basement to override the manual switch.

_**Suspension of power unit confirmed** _

_**Insufficient power generation.** _

_**Bulwark closing in 180 seconds. All personnel please evacuate from gate 2.** _

_**Rayshift system transferring to the final stage.** _

_**Coordinates: January 30th, 2004 CE. Fuyuki, Japan** _

The hatch was still open but the public announcement system was counting down to whatever this was. Gudako wished she did not sleep during the briefing. Looking through each and every coffin, they have been cryogenically frozen thanks to the fail safe in place. She sees two people, a guy and a girl, wounded and unconscious but needs to find Mash first. Mash was a priority to her.

_**Laplace conversion protection in place. Additional factor frame towards Singularity secured.** _

_**Unsummon Program Set. Masters, please enter the final adjustments** _

Gudako finally found her underneath a large pile of concrete. She can see blood seeping out into a puddle beneath her. Fou was there, barking and maybe hoping someone would come to the girl's rescue.

"Hang in there, Mash. I will get you out of there." Gudako regrets not going to the gym more often to lift weights. It was hot to the touch, making her use her sleeves to soften the burn as she tried to lift it up.

"No, Senpai. Please. You have to escape."

"I will… together with you."

_**Attention, all observational staff.** _

_**Chaldeas' condition has changed.** _

_**Sheba's near future observational data has been overwritten.** _

_**The survival of the human race for the next 100 years cannot be confirmed.** _

_**The future of humanity cannot be guaranteed.** _

_**Central bulkhead will now be closed. Interior cleansing starting in 90 seconds.** _

There was no escape now, for anyone still alive. Gudako sighed, unable to get Mash out of the rubble as she sat beside her. "Senpai, I am sorry because of me, you are now unable to escape."

"I - It's fine, I am sure the others will find a way. We will definitely make a way out of this."

_**Seeking qualified masters… Seeking** _

"Senpai, is it okay if you could hold my hand?" Gudako could only nod as she held the outstretched hand of the younger girl. More and more of the room begins to crumble around them. It was nice to share some warmth in this moment.

_**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.48** _

_**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.49** _

_**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.5** _

…

_**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.6** _

_**Starting Unsummon Program** _

_**Beginning Spiritron Conversion** _

_**Rayshift beginning in ...3 ...2 ...1** _

_**All operations cleared.** _

_**Beginning First Order verification.** _


	2. Paper Town Beset By Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most people have a hometown or a place they attributed to a youth. His stopped existing anywhere but his head.  
> She lives on and on for the happy ending to her song but lamentations will not leave her be, towards a crimson city, she moves forward.  
> A prayer is salvation, even if the god that provides is a stranger to our moon and stars.  
> An eye that sees possibilities in anything but herself. Left alone, she is blind in the fire.  
> With a gift of the apple of discord, a man confronts the world he lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully , I continue to write longer and improve on it. I respond to review questions by inbox.  
> Longer notes in the bottom.

**_' The town was paper but the memories were not.'_ **

* * *

**[ Ritsuka ]**

When one introduces themselves for the first time, people want to know 4 things. Your name, your age, your hobby and your hometown. Those details always seem to be the one people think they can connect the most with or use to further continue the conversation.

"So where are you from?"

"I am from Saitama."

Ritsuka never felt bad about lying when he had to introduce himself. It was better than to deal with the uncomfortable topic that would come up if he was honest. Saitama was a dull enough answer that would never get any heavy reactions, a safe answer but every now and then, whenever he has bottled enough of the guilt of lying, he would say out the truth instead.

"So where are you from?"

"I am from Fuyuki."

"Fuyuki? Where's that?"

"North of Aomori."

"Ehhh, isn't that one of those paper towns? Are you like ashamed of your real hometown, Fujimaru-san? Is it Saitama, perhaps? "

"Haha, you got me. I am from Saitama."

It always ends in that similar manner. If one were to end up in such a situation all the time, they would have just given up on the memory and be a Saitama born kid but he could never do that. It's been 11 years but whenever he gazes at a red bridge or finds himself on a beach, his heart would yearn for maps to be overwritten, for the crying of seagulls on the Fuyuki shore.

The Fujimaru family residence was located on the west side of the town, 2 blocks north from the Ryuudou Temple and surrounded by wisterias that were said to be planted by their ancestors. The two story house the family lives in has gone through countless renovations and generations of their family. It was not a large family, not out of some adherence to a lifestyle rule, just the culling and containment by life's coincidence and the tidings of modern history. They were not nobles or anyone great but they inherited this small piece of ancestral land through the recognition of the local city council.

Emi Fujimaru felt her water break and underwent labor in the living room of the Fujimaru household on a rainy day in 1997. Ritsuka Fujimaru was safely delivered into the world in the Fuyuki General Hospital to the proud faces of his parents. The first experience a child would experience, Ritsuka had them all in the vicinity of Fuyuki. If a frog's well is a frog's entire world, then Fuyuki was the well he was confined to. His first childhood friend was the neighbor's daughter, he only knew her as Ayako. In the day, he would go to Fuyuki West Nursery with her in their big backpacks and child safety alarm. In the evening, they would play in the nearby park. In the night, he would return home, all dirty and happy. Life was simple for a boy like him in quiet Fuyuki until it ceased to be.

It was the 5th day of the new year of 2004. Winter in Fuyuki this season was a little warmer, not enough for you to go out without a coat on but the amount of snowfall was depressingly lacking, not enough to gather white patches, just humidity and wetness.

Ritsuka Fujimaru was now 7 years old and his new year resolution was to help his mom out with chores so when mom needed him to go buy some hangover medicine while she tended to his drunk dad, the boy headed out without complain, not knowing of a special event happening in the Fuyuki night time.

One would wonder whether it was safe for a 7 year old boy to walk alone in the streets at night but Fuyuki was a safe place with no criminal incidents, at least not for the last 10 years. Emi Fujimaru was not a woman to coddle and spoil her children so putting some trust that he will go and return safely was a test for the both of them.

At this hour, the closest store that sold hangover medicine was the Family Mart three blocks away, that required him to walk past Ryuudou Temple on the other side of the hill. He always found it funny that it was called a convenience store despite it being a 10 minutes walk away but that is just how it was on the edge of the town.

It was not to say that a 7 year old boy is not scared he was walking alone at night. The road around Ryuudou temple was only lit by the moon which only made the vibe around it more chilling, the cemetery grounds not helping. His only protection was the placebo that puffing up his chest and holding his breath in would make him silent enough that spirits would not see him. Ritsuka made it safely past the first stage of his grand odyssey to get hangover medicine.

The second part was dealing with the weird look the cashier was giving him when he went to pay for the hangover medicine. Did he know he was only supposed to get medicine and not use any of the spare change to buy candy? For a moment, it did but the cashier was just a part-timer and worrying about things was not in his pay grade, sending the kid off with the plastic bag of purchases and the usual customer service farewell.

The walk back home was just as quiet if not a little more darker as the clouds shrouded the moon. Ritsuka walked bravely with the same puffed up placebo of bravado, accompanied by the plastic bag of stuff that he imagined a child's level of sentience to guard him from fear. The solitude and darkness was terrifying, no cars with headlights passing by or in his vision this late, but his senses became more keen, trying to find a source of light as he marched onwards in the darkness. A light from a house, a disloyal lamppost flickering in a row of shut off street lamps, anything would be fine if he could feel some safety, even the sparks of a battle.

On the unmaintained steps of Ryuudou Temple, hidden by pine trees, the sharp edges of blades clash against one another, ever matching one another in the intensity of heated battle. Ritsuka only caught sight of the sparks and with his eyes, that was the only thing he could see as the two fighters were too fast. Curiosity was the killer of cats and children who don't know better as the first thing he thought to do was move closer, wanting to take a closer look. One step was all he took before a hand came to his shoulder and stopped him.

"Good evening, child. Should you not be returning home soon, it may not be a school night but Fuyuki is never a place to wander in the dead of night." For a child, screaming is the first thing one would do when encountering stranger danger but Ritsuka's open mouth made no sound as he turned to face the stranger. White robes and a hood, his face was blurry in the darkness of night.

"Calm down, I would not hurt you but you need to go home. It's dangerous to wander around in a war, then again, you would not know. While the rules of war are written in moonlit, I am not beholden to them so close your eyes and dream a dreamless sleep. _Svefnthorn_." There was a sense of familiar comfort to his calm tone like a father's wisdom. He did not understand what it meant but he knows he will remember them as the man's finger traces the air before him. A trance that captured his mind and lulled drowsiness upon his leads, Ritsuka's last sight before sleep claimed him was not the man but the flash of clashing blades sparking once more.

"I guess this is where your story starts, Ritsuka Fujimaru."

* * *

It was easier to travel by car than train in Fuyuki when one talks of travelling to neighboring states. There were only two major lines. One towards the Hokkaido North and the other heading to Tokyo through Misaki Town. The Fujimaru's family car was an old 1998 HR-V. Gaudy in the dark blue and well maintained throughout the years that his dad has cared for it, it still had a rumble to the engine that could wake a sleeping child up. Ritsuka found himself strapped to the backseat when he woke up. The unfamiliar rows of trees greeted the sleepyhead as he fought back a yawn.

"Ah, Ritsu, you finally woke up. Want some breakfast? I bought some rice balls from the petrol station." Emi Fujimaru was a very motherly woman considering the fact that she and her husband married pretty late. A plastic bag of various snacks was handed to Ritsuka as his vision finally caught up with the state of being awake.

"Wait, where are we going?" It was a new experience to Ritsuka, the idea of spontaneously going somewhere, especially so far away from Fuyuki. The events of yesterday seemed like a dream covered in black ink, unable to recollect.

"Well, your dad and I have not gone on a vacation since you were born and since your dad is finally free this weekend, a trip to Niigata sounded nice. It is a little sudden but since it's not peak season this time of the year, we should be fine right, Haruto?" His dad just gave a grunt for a nod, paying more attention to the road.

Ritsuka could only accept it as a matter of fact, as a child, their decision guided how he would spend his free weekend as the vehicle pulled further away from the town he had only known until now. The boy stood on the car seat with his knees as he looked through the rear window of the car, they had long passed any traces of Fuyuki. He never got the chance to say goodbye.

Around this time of the year, Niigata was a winter wonderland, full of fun activities in the snowy mountain region and a lovely hot spring experience. The three members of the Fujimaru family had a wonderful time there, a well needed vacation for two adults and an eye opening experience for the child. It was the first time Ritsuka had seen so much snow that one could play in or the warmth of a natural hot spring or the feeling of a mattress that was not his own. It was a two day one night trip for the family but just as they were about to head home, the hotel lounge tv was airing a breaking news segment.

"We are getting reports about a terrorist takeover by a cult in the town of Fuyuki. No details on why they took over the town but police authorities have secured all possible entry and exit points to the town to curb any further movements. JSDF has deployed a battalion to capture and eliminate the terrorists. We will update you with further news as they come."

Of course, that did not stop his dad from worrying as they immediately drove back to Fuyuki only to be stopped by a police roadblock and moved to a temporary shelter as they waited for reports.

It was only after 3 days when they got something concrete. Driven into a corner towards Mount Enzou, the cult had deployed a bio weapon before being eliminated. It was a sort of chemical that was dispersed into the air, a huge volume of radioactive gas that has rendered the area of Fuyuki unlivable for the time being and now the authorities are planning to seal up the town.

There were a lot of things Ritsuka could not accept about the matter in his 7 year old mind. The circumstances of the event, the lack of motives the authorities found from the cult, the idea that a cult could have a bio weapon like that, the inability of the government to fix the situation but more than anything, it was the fact that his parents accepted it so easily as he whined in rejection.

"No, I want to go home. I already missed school for 3 days. It was my turn to feed the class hamster. What about the Mitsuzuri family? What about Ayako? What about everyone else?" Ritsuka has been childishly refusing to accept the truth, trying to get his parents to go with him into the town for a while now, only now stopped when someone's hand smacked him in the back of the head.

"Good grief. This is why I hate kids. Can't you see your parents are hurting as well. I am sorry we can't do much for your town but we still cannot let you into Fuyuki. You are no government official so unless you are a wizard, you are not going to even get past me back to the town. Look kid, whatever fate let you and your family escape the terrorist, you should count your lucky stars, not everyone gets those chances. You can't build a house anywhere but you can call anywhere a family gathers a home. Mr. Fujimaru, I just got word that a government official will come tomorrow to sort out your living situation." It was the police officer in charge of handling them, an old man who should have retired a while ago. Ritsuka stayed silent, nursing the soreness of a serious hit to the head.

A week later, they moved to Saitama where his mother has some distant relatives. His dad found a job similar to his old one and Ritsuka moved to a new school but could not fit in easily. Years go by and the news about Fuyuki faded into the back of society's head. At first, they just referred to it as the Fuyuki Incident, then they called it a paper town. When he graduated from high school, Fuyuki became a town that never existed but he remembers, he remembers it all and the events of his last night in Fuyuki could no longer remain a dream even if he was a nobody in a sea of people.

* * *

**[ Hinako Akuta(?)]**

_"My strength plucked up the hills,"_

_"My might shadowed the world;"_

_"But the times were against me,"_

_"And Zhui runs no more;"_

_"When Zhui runs no more,"_

_"What then can I do?"_

_"Ah, Yu, my Yu,"_

_"What will your fate be?"_

She could still hear him sing his lamentation. Though even the slightest replay of his voice was sweet, the feelings it would leave her was bitter. For 2000 years, she lived through the ages, cultivating, surviving, living for a single purpose. There was no heaven for the two of them, no life after death in this world or the next. If she sought a reunion with the hegemon she loved, it would have to be in this word itself. It was for such a meeting she continued to live in solitude, detesting in hate and admiring in envy of human progression. Truthfully, humanity is second priority to her own goals, even Marisbury knew and that was why he left her with a task that was inhuman.

Coffin has sustained damage. Power failure imminent

Cryogenic protocol to be executed

A cold sleep from this world was tempting but her rage and desire burned hotter. Her hands clawed the coffin's handle, breaking beneath the pain of a bomb's aftermath. She was not human but her blood flowed red from the abdomen as she got out of her coffin. Pulling out the shard that had embedded itself into her, only the unknown opportunity to see him once more moved her feet to stand. Her wounds were already closing thanks to her nature. Her presence concealed by the destruction of the room's interior, she was thinking of her next move.

'Can I still hide my identity? Is the mission continuing?' Her thought jumbled around until an answer was announced for her.

**Seeking qualified masters… Seeking**

**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.48**

**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.49**

**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.5**

**…**

**Resetting contact with suitable designee no.6**

'No.49?' A sudden number not known until now, whoever it was, she only held mild surprise. She was no.6 and that all mattered to her, there was a chance of things continuing even in such a hellhole. She would trade as many worlds on fire, as many worlds drowned in blood, all to see Xiang Yu-sama once more as the rayshift began.

* * *

**[ Olga Marie Animusphere ]**

_Stars,_

_Cosmos,_

_Gods,_

_Animus,_

_Antrum,_

_Universe,_

_Anima,_

_Animusphere_

Every man of faith has a prayer or verse they cling to in the uncertainty of life, every magus has a chant they spoke to empower their circuits with the power to bring about something no layperson thought possible. For Olga Marie, it was those 8 words that her bloodline uses, those 8 words she clung to in the uncertainty of the burden her dad left her. No one depended on her but she depended on it in the darkness of a lonely home, in the darkness of the clocktower's corners, in the darkness of Chaldea's director's office, in the darkness of agony.

A bomb, not even one of magecraft, has stained her father's legacy and the track record she was desperately trying to maintain beneath his shadow. She could not move, she dared not wake, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt. Is someone out there? Lev, are you there? Anyone? Please?

She could hear something. No, she can only feel it, a vibration through the ground. Footsteps of someone. Mumbles she cannot make out, she feels her body moved but where to. ? A stray thought. The enigma that knew her dad. Was he safe? A part of her always felt he was involved even if there was no proof. His existent was an omen she could not speak out and now she will never know.

"Quick, bring her to the operation room. DaVinci, I am leaving the singularity supervision to you until I am done. Meunière, assist me please."

"This much work is only adequate for a genius such as I. Leave it to me. ~"

_Stars,_

_Cosmos,_

_Gods,_

_Animus,_

_Antrum,_

_Universe,_

_Anima,_

_Animusphere_

Olga Marie was barely alive in the blast plotted by Lev Lainur. What little life she had clung onto those 8 words, a plea to be saved as she fades in and out of life and death. She was unaware that she had already caught the attention of something.

* * *

**[ Ophelia ]**

Singularity F is a city sized singularity located in Fuyuki city of Aomori Prefecture in Japan. SHEBA has determined the singularity's humanity foundation value at C. Observed as a city in constant flames through the lens, there was no significance to the bigger pages of human history but to a magus, it deserved a little nod of acknowledgement.

The Fuyuki Holy Grail war, a ritual of battle conducted by three eastern magi families, supported by the Wizard Marshall himself, in pursuit of the Root. The report on it by the mages association was lacking, requiring higher clearance than what could be given to an organization with no accolades beside a couple of inventions and some influential names in their employment.

Even though they had an incomplete idea of what was going on within the singularity, Chaldea's mission was still the same, to explore and exterminate the singularity. Ophelia was confident that they would succeed, if not for the sufficient manpower of 47 masters in the mission then in the conclusive observation of the team she was placed in, Team A. The 7 best, each exceptional in their own field.

It was not to say they as a team worked like a well oiled machine, they had no sense or need for team work. She had qualms with Daybit and Beryl and their lack of regard for morality. Kadoc Zemlupus was quiet and introverted like her and Akuta-san kept social interaction to the barest minimum. Pepe was the only one you could say was friendly, uncomfortably so at some times. Perhaps, it is due to her treating him as a person of the opposite sex despite his effeminacy. Friendly was not the word she would for Kirschtaria, his interaction with his teammates was more like colleagues. There was kindness but nothing that would misconstrued him as a friend. He was someone she admired, not because of his praiseworthy ability and feats but because he was exactly someone her parents aspired for her to be.

If there was one person she wished to be friends with more than anyone in Team A, it was someone who she could associate the story of her life with. It was Mash Kyrielight, an addition to the A team as a catalyst for the Fate summoning system. It was not like they were both twins who went through the same thing but Mash's quiet nature was much more relatable to her than Kadoc's or Akuta's. It was a shame Ophelia was too shy to ever brave the topic of friendship with the girl.

The 8 of them were strong in her judgement, not because she believed that just the 8 of them could solve the singularity but because if they cannot, the rest has less chance. It was an observable calculation.

* * *

Ophelia hated how correct SHEBA's description of the singularity was accurate. A city consumed by a sea of flames, never-ending yet never finishing what it was burning. It was like a paintbrush of red, struggling to flood the map of the city against some unseen force.

No signs of other life and no signs of receiving communication, Ophelia found herself rayshifted to the mission area without her team. She had been knocked out by the shockwave of an explosion when she was about to remove the intruder from the premises. The last thing she remembered was how he had been designated as the 49th master candidate by a protocol system left by the previous director.

Marisbury Animusphere was a man of vision. She had only met him once when she joined Chaldea and it was not enough to form an impression of him. The rest of what she knew came from his student, Kirschtaria and it was not something he spoke much especially after the man's suicide. The idea that he would foresee an outcome of an intruder rayshifting into Chaldea though somehow fit the enigma of the former director.

"…"

Speaking of the guy, he was just propped on the road unconscious and unaware since he entered Chaldea. Ritsuka Fujimaru, an anomaly no one could have imagined and now could only be suspicious whether he was related to the explosion. He was the closest to her with how she had been carrying him out of the rayshift room. Their bodies must have been in contact during the rayshift for them to be in the same place.

Leaving him aside, Ophelia tried to come up with a plan. Command H.Q. was not responding and she has not received any local transmission if any other mages survived contact, not even Team A and she was alone. This entire situation was a mess but not something that she would admit as a failure. She could and was not allowed to fail but the pit inside her was tense, twisting into itself. With the mystic eyes she was blessed with and her talent in spiritual evocation, she wanted to lie and believe that she could carry this task alone.

The complete elimination of a singularity is tasked to 48 people separated into 6 teams. Team A, B, C, D, E, F. The reason for that was for the simple reason of task division management so that no one person had to do multiple jobs and be able to plan properly. 48 masters if able to successfully summon a heroic spirit each had the force of an army, enough to ensure their mission but now, there was only one here, two if you count the suspicious extra. Ophelia was no leader nor was she a strategist, she was just a specialist tasked with performing what a leader would need done but there was no head of command now. The chain of command was in chaos.

Her mind was starting to break down from the stress of the situation dawning. For all the Phamrsolone did to her, they never accounted for strengthening her mind. The greatest expectation that was placed on her was the honor of the family name and to uplift it was her duty. It was why she sought to prove herself in the clocktower, not for her own ambition but her family. It was why she sought to join Chaldea, for the reputation of her family to spread. None of it was willingness on her part, for the only thing she willfully wanted was to have a friend.

*Cough Cough* "Ahhh fuck, it hurts. What was with that crazy old man. Oh god my back."

Cursing in japanese, the man had woken up, bringing her out of the collapse of her mind and giving her a purpose. She cannot do much, but she was sure she could draw some answers out of a non-magus with a little force as she walked up to him. With her index finger pointed at him, she voicelessly readied a simple spell of Gandr, holding the black ball of runic curse at the man.

* * *

**[ Ritsuka & Ophelia ]**

"How did you rayshift into Chaldea? Did you plant a bomb?"

Imagine finding yourself in the weirdest throne room before an old man who speaks cryptically about your world ending, then gives you a weird object and sends you off somewhere which knocks you unconscious and the next thing you know, a girl is demanding answers from you in english with a dangerous looking thing on her finger. There was no easy way to swallow comprehension of the situation and his body still hurts from a soreness that he would attribute to either experiencing the longest delusion or 2 consecutive unconsented teleportation.

The least weirdest part was him knowing enough English to understand and think of how to reply. It was just a knack of his to be able to speak English, coming from a country that did not even though english conversation classes are the current mainstream thing. Still, rayshift? Chaldea? Those words don't mean anything but confusion to him as he stares in confusion and fear back at her.

"Chott- Wait, wait, what's rayshift or Chaldea? I don't know what you are talking about."  
Hands up and trying to get a little more distance from medium ball of death, his butt on the asphalt and his back against the wall, he was frazzled by the sudden development from regular citizen to whatever this was.

"Are you saying you don't know what you did? That you entered a highly classified building through the one entrance no one thought possible,just before a bomb explodes?" She was expecting an easy answer, yes and noes would be all she needed, honest confusion did not help and he was honest like a rabbit before the barrel of a rifle.

"Bomb, what? I was doing my work and then I found myself in some guy's place. He called himself Zelretch, said the world ended and that I must go to where it started. I don't know anything about a bomb. I don't even know what I am supposed to do." He omitted a couple of things, only because he had no way of making sense of it.

"Zelretch? Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg?! You saw the wizard marshal?!" There really was no easy answer for Ophelia. The surprise that the second magician had interfered with this world was enough to absolve him of suspicion just by the man's reputation, only to be supplanted by the bigger enigma of who Ritsuka Fujimaru was if Zelretch had to bring him in. She cancelled the spell and tried to formulate the next move with regards to the answers he provided. She still had to complete the mission, find a way to communicate with Chaldea's command and find any candidates who survived. It was better to have him around, the least he could be was a meat shield, the best was if Zelretch considered him a piece to the solution then just having him was a trump card even if she did not know what he could do.

"Listen well, Ritsuka Fujimaru. I will only say it once. My name is Ophelia Phamrsolone, designated as the no.5 master candidate of the Chaldea Security Organization. Our mission is to prevent the certain extinction of humanity by fixing temporal anomalies or singularities. We do this by rayshifting into the time and space of the singularity to find the source and eliminate it. There are 48 master candidates to be on this mission but someone has planted bombs to disrupt and ruin our mission. Prior to that, if what you say is correct, you have been sent to Chaldea through the Kaleidoscope's power, hijacking my coffin. Our system then designated you as the 49th master candidate before it rayshifted us to the coordinate of our first mission, Singularity F. As of right now until we can get back to our base, you are under my charge so listen to my orders."

"I mean with what I went through, I can even believe King Arthur is a girl but it does not mean I am in your charge or this chain of command thing. Hell, my sense of time is fucked. I don't even know what day it is anymore, much less going around and fixing it. Also with what? A wrench? All the old man gave me was this stupid device and no instructions." He pulled out the present Zelretch gave him from his pocket, getting a good look for once. It was like a phone with how one side was a glass screen of sorts. A casing of gold, etched with a design of a magical circle with an apple logo in the center of it.

"Is that a mystic code? One of the wizard marshal's?" Her curiosity piqued as she ignored the fact that he would not listen to her command. Ophelia leaned forward for a better look at it.

"What's a mystic code? I may be aware that magic exists and there are mages or magicians but I know nothing about it. Uh, there is no button, how do I even activate it? Hello?" Ritsuka fiddled around it for a way to start it, getting nothing much until he spoke to it as it started to warm up in his hand.

**[ Sensing voice trigger activation...Detecting first time user..]**

**[ Initiating Mystic code introduction ]**

**[Good day, Master. I am Type Kaleidophone Mystic Code AKX11. You can refer to me as Kallisti. Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg has assigned me to support your endeavors whatever it be. Unlike my predecessor, the Kaleidostick, this mystic code cannot access the mana plane or give you infinite mana as Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg has decided it was too dull of a solution. To access functions of this mystic code, the user, my master, must earn it by exploring, surviving and winning in their journey. As long as you exist, I gather mana. When excess mana of a certain quantity is reached, it will crystallize as a jewel known as saint quartz. Explanation of their use can be found after this message.]**

**[As of initialization, AKX11's functions are:**

**Social: Data of all existing humans in your social circle is gathered that you know. Contact functions will be provided if the other party accepts.**

**Camera: Visual recording function.**

**Map: Bird's eye view of current position. Marker and compass function included.**

**Storage: Minor operation of pocket dimension to store items of a certain size. Limited to 100 items.**

**Archive: Information on AKX11 and terms used in the moonlit world is kept here. It is to be noted that this is not an internet browser.** **]**

**[ Further functions will be updated when the user has reached a certain level of progression and capability.]**

It was a slog to get through as the device droned on even if a text format version of it was provided on the screen of the mystic code. Ritsuka felt like he was slapped, the solution he was provided with to save the world was basically just a phone powered by unlimited mana that can't be used to do anything else other than what the artificial intelligence(?) allowed.

"Is this old man Zelretch always this… senile?"

"I have only heard of him. He is a powerful being… and old but I would not call him that. Kirschtaria would say there is a method to his madness but I don't know much to confirm or deny it. Regardless of what it is, our goal is still the same, to establish contact with base and return. Singularity F is not a playground, we don't know what went wrong and what lurks in it so it is better you listen to me, Ritsuka Fujimaru."

"Fine, fine." Ritsuka finally took a good look at his surroundings. A city on fire and a sky of red with a ring of light ever present overlooking down on them. The poet Dante would call it a divine comedy if he was here and saw a hell made with japanese architecture.

Wait.

"Hey, where are you going? It's dangerous to go ahead."

Ritsuka took a second look and walked a little further away, trying to find a building that would still have a sign on. There were no humans here, a city devoid of life, no, the better way to say it was incinerated of life. A shoplot stood before him, furniture inside destroyed but the sign of the restaurant still stood. It was a chinese restaurant name that pricked at his memories. He was not a fan of chinese food, he could handle his spicy food but he was no masochist in search of ghost pepper to punish him. The same cannot be said of his dad, he loved Sichuan cuisine, back then if mom would not cook dinner for one reason or another, dad would order takeout from this one restaurant. When they moved to Saitama, his dad did not search for a job first, he searched for a chinese restaurant close by.

"Ah man, it's good dear but they don't make Mapo Tofu like the one in -"

"Koushuuensaikan Taizan" It was like a magic word that punched the air out of his stomach as he spoke it. It was a feeling he never thought he would feel. The rapture of homecoming. Sadness reversing itself but not changing into anything good. It was like the necromancy of a loved one, seeing them one more time by defiling the memories and setting the body on fire.

"Ah, I forgot to mention it to you since you were Japanese but Singularity F is-"

"Fuyuki City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan."

"Oh how did you know? This is a forgotten city, removed from the temporal axis by the singularity. It should not exist in the minds of common people."

"I am from Fuyuki."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kallisti is the Romanized Greek word inscribed onto the golden apple of discord that started out the Trojan war. It means "To The Beautiful One." Save you a Wikipedia search. Yes, the entire golden apple thing is one big joke that Ritsuka has a magical Apple iPhone.
> 
> As written in the last note, this fic is my attempt at trying to diverge from the standard gamer fic (and a bunch of other things mixed in.) Ritsuka will not be OP. He might be OP in the end of the story but not as the story progresses. The gamification growth progression is more in line with how FGO as a mobile game is and serves as a tool for the interaction of masters and servants.
> 
> I hope I draw out Ritsuka as a character better this chapter was his origin thing. He does not a big trauma thing that would give him the angst to define his character but he has a small fixation to the idea of a lost hometown like Shirou Emiya's fixation with pipes. As for the mysterious man who made him sleep, is he Marisbury? Solomon? goddamn Zelretch again? Who knows? But this chapter will be the last that Zelretch be mentioned, too much deus ex hurts to write.
> 
> Servants will pop out next chapter and while I have already decided who will be in, it's nice to hear thoughts on it and why it would be interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading if you come down this far. Reviews, flames, dishonoring my cow is appreciated.
> 
> The title Golden Apple holds a meaningless symbolism towards the main plot that might eventually get explained later on but for now, it won't make sense because we are still building blocks on the cast since Singularity F Fuyuki is like a prologue. Once the blocks are build, we will diverge more from canon little by little, maintaining key events.
> 
> By making Ritsuka into a main character, at some point, he will have to diverge from the canon identity of being normal. This is where Gudako Riyo comes into play as the female deuteragonist. Riyo as a last name because of the riyo comics but also because there is no other fitting name that does not sound weird or too familiar.
> 
> If you probably guess it, this is a Harem (sort of) story but that will be explained later on.


End file.
